Difference between revisions of "Figures of Speech"

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==Tropes: not to be taken literally==
+
'''Figures of Speech'''
 +
*Metaplastic figures: playing with spelling and sound
 +
**The addition of letters and sounds (prosthesis, epenthesis, paragoge)
 +
**The omission of letters and sounds (aphaersis, syncope, apocope)
 +
**The switching of letters and sounds (antisthecon, metathesis)
 +
*Playing with the structure of sentences
 +
**Words (seem to) get lost (ellipsis, zeugma...)
 +
**Repetions of words (epizeuxis, polyptoton, antanaclasis...)
 +
*Figures of an unusual arrangement of clauses and thoughts (auxesis, isocolon, chiasmus, antithesis, periphrasis...)
 +
*Peculiar thoughts (adynaton, aporia, correctio...)
 +
'''Tropes:''' not to be taken literally: (metaphor, metonymy, synekdoche, metalepsis, irony...)
  
{|cellpadding="5"
+
==Figures of Speech==
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
*[[accumulation]]: Summarization of previous arguments in a forceful manner
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
*[[adnominatio]]: Repetition of a word with a change in letter or sound
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
*[[alliteration]]: A series of words that begin with the same letter or sound alike
|-
+
*[[anacoluthon]]: A change in the syntax within a sentence
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metaphor'''
+
*[[anadiplosis]]: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[anaphora]]: The repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[anastrophe]]: Inversion of the usual word order
|-
+
*[[anticlimax]]: the arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metonymy'''
+
*[[antimetabole]]: Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[antistrophe]]: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[antithesis]]: The juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas
|-
+
*[[aphorismus]]:  statement that calls into question the definition of a word
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''synekdoche'''
+
*[[aposiopesis]]: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[apostrophe (figure of speech)|apostrophe]]: Directing the attention away from the audience and to a personified abstraction
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[apposition]]: The placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first
|-
+
*[[assonance]]: The repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metalepsis'''
+
*[[asteismus]]: Facetious or mocking answer that plays on a word
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[asyndeton]]: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[cacophony]]: The juxtaposition of words producing a harsh sound
|-
+
*[[classification (literature & grammar)]]: linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''irony'''
+
*[[chiasmus]]: Reversal of grammatical structures in successive clauses
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[climax (figure of speech)|climax]]: The arrangement of words in order of increasing importance
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[consonance]]: The repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
|-
+
*[[Diorimazeau]]
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''paradox'''
+
*[[dystmesis]]: A synonym for [[tmesis]]
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[ellipsis (figure of speech)|ellipsis]]: Omission of words
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[enallage]]: The substitution of forms that are grammatically different, but have the same meaning
|-
+
*[[enthymeme]]: Informal method of presenting a syllogism
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''oxymoron'''
+
*[[epanalepsis]]: Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence.
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[epistrophe]]: The counterpart of anaphora
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[euphony]]: This is the opposite of [[cacophony]] - i.e. pleasant sounding
|-
+
*[[hendiadys]]: Use of two nouns to express an idea when the normal structure would be a noun and a modifier
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''litotes'''
+
*[[hendiatris]]: Use of three nouns to express one idea
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[hypallage]]: Changing the order of words so that they are associated with words normally associated with others
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[hyperbaton]]: Schemes featuring unusual or inverted word order
|-
+
*[[isocolon]]: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''hyperbole'''
+
*[[internal rhyme]] : Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[kenning]]: A [[metonymic]] compound where the terms together form a sort of [[synecdoche]]
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
*[[non sequitur]]: a statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding
|}
+
*[[merism]]: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts
 +
*[[parallelism (grammar)|parallelism]]: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses
 +
*[[paraprosdokian]]: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause
 +
*[[parenthesis (rhetoric)|parenthesis]]: Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence
 +
*paroemion: A resolute alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter
 +
*[[parrhesia]]: Speaking openly or boldly, or apologizing for doing so (declaring to do so)
 +
*[[perissologia]]: The fault of wordiness
 +
*[[pleonasm]]: The use of superfluous or redundant words
 +
*[[polyptoton]]: Repetition of words derived from the same root
 +
*[[polysyndeton]]: Repetition of conjunctions
 +
*[[pun]]: When a word or phrase is used in two different senses
 +
*[[sibilance]]: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of [[alliteration]]
 +
*[[synchysis]]: Interlocked word order
 +
*[[synesis]]: An agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form
 +
*[[synizesis]]: The pronunciation of two juxtaposed vowels or diphthongs as a single sound
 +
*[[synonymia]]: The use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence
 +
*[[Tautology (rhetoric)|tautology]]: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice
 +
*[[tmesis]]: Division of the elements of a compound word
  
==Metaplastic figures: playing with spelling and sound==
 
  
===The addition of letters and sounds===
+
==Tropes==
 +
*[[allegory]]: An extended [[metaphor]] in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject
 +
*[[allusion]]: An indirect reference to another work of literature or art
 +
*[[anacoenosis]]: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker
 +
*[[antanaclasis]]: A form of [[pun]] in which a word is repeated in two different senses
 +
*[[anthimeria]]: The substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb
 +
*[[antiphrasis]]: A word or words used contradictory to their usual meaning, often with irony
 +
*[[antonomasia]]: The substitution of a phrase for a proper name or vice versa
 +
*[[aphorism]]: A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion, an adage
 +
*[[apophasis]]: Invoking an idea by denying its invocation
 +
*[[aporia]]: Deliberating with oneself, often with the use of rhetorical questions
 +
*[[apostrophe (rhetoric)|apostrophe]]: Addressing a thing, an abstraction or a person not present
 +
*[[archaism]]: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word(a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare's language)
 +
*[[auxesis]]: A form of [[hyperbole]], in which a more important sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term
 +
*[[catachresis]]: A mixed [[metaphor]] (sometimes used by design and sometimes a rhetorical fault)
 +
*[[circumlocution]]: "Talking around" a topic by substituting or adding words, as in [[euphemism]] or [[periphrasis]]
 +
*[[commiseration]]: Evoking pity in the audience.
 +
*[[correctio]]: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is [[epanorthosis]].
 +
*[[denominatio]]: Another word for [[metonymy]]
 +
*[[epanorthosis]]:  Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a [[slip of the tongue]].
 +
*[[erotema]]: Synonym for [[rhetorical question]]
 +
*[[euphemism]]: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another
 +
*[[hermeneia]]: Repetition for the purpose of interpreting what has already been said
 +
*[[hyperbole]]: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis
 +
*[[hypophora]]: Answering one's own [[rhetorical question]] at length
 +
*[[hysteron proteron]]: Reversal of anticipated order of events
 +
*[[innuendo]]: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not
 +
*[[invocation]]: An apostrophe to a god or muse
 +
*[[irony]]: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning
 +
*[[litotes]]: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite
 +
*[[malapropism]]: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar
 +
*[[meiosis (figure of speech)|meiosis]]: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something
 +
*[[metalepsis]]: Referring to something through reference to another thing to which it is remotely related
 +
*[[metaphor]]: An implied comparison of two unlike things
 +
*[[metonymy]]: Substitution of a word to suggest what is really meant
 +
*[[neologism]]: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of [[archaism]].
 +
*[[onomatopoeia]]: Words that sound like their meaning
 +
*[[oxymoron]]: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other
 +
*[[parable]]: An extended [[metaphor]] told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson
 +
*[[paradox]]: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth
 +
*[[paralipsis]]: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over
 +
*[[paronomasia]]: A form of [[pun]], in which words similar in sound but with different meanings are used
 +
*[[pathetic fallacy]]: Using a word that refers to a human action on something non-human
 +
*[[periphrasis]]: Substitution of a word or phrase for a proper name
 +
*[[personification]]/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena
 +
*[[praeteritio]]: Another word for [[paralipsis]]
 +
*[[procatalepsis]]: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument
 +
*[[prolepsis]]: Another word for [[procatalepsis]]
 +
*[[proslepsis]]: An extreme form of [[paralipsis]] in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic
 +
*[[rhetorical question]]: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as for in a poem for creating a poetic effect). 
 +
*[[simile]]: An explicit comparison between two things
 +
*[[syllepsis]]: A form of [[pun]], in which a single word is used to modify two other words, with which it normally would have differing meanings
 +
*[[synecdoche]]: A form of [[metonymy]], in which a part stands for the whole
 +
*[[synesthesia]]: The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.
 +
*[[transferred epithet]]: The placing of an adjective with what appears to be the incorrect noun
 +
*[[truism]]: a self-evident statement
 +
*[[tricolon|tricolon diminuens]]: A combination of three elements, each decreasing in size
 +
*[[tricolon|tricolon crescens]]: A combination of three elements, each increasing in size
 +
*[[zeugma]]: a figure of speech related to [[syllepsis]], but different in that the word used as a modifier is not compatible with one of the two words it modifies
 +
*[[zoomorphism]]:  applying animal characteristics to humans or gods
  
{|cellpadding="5"
+
[[Category:Handout:Literature and Culture|Figurative Speech]]
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''prosthesis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| addition of letters to the beginning of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''epenthesis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| addition of letters to the middle of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''paragoge'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| addition of letters to the end of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
 
+
 
+
===The omission of letters and sounds===
+
 
+
 
+
{|cellpadding="5"
+
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''aphaersis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| omission of letters to the beginning of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''syncope'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| omission of letters to the middle of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''apocope'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| omission of letters to the end of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
 
+
===The switching of letters and sounds===
+
 
+
{|cellpadding="5"
+
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''antisthecon'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| substitution of a letter or sound for another within a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metathesis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| transposition of a letter out of its normal order in a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
+
===Combinations of these factors===
+
 
+
synaeresis
+
 
+
==Playing with the structure of sentences==
+
 
+
===Words (seem to) get lost===
+
 
+
{|cellpadding="5"
+
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''ellipsis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| omission of a word
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''zeugma'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| an ellipsis of a verb, in which one verb is used to govern several clauses
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''scesis onamaton'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| omission of the verb of a sentence
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''anapodoton'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| omission of a clause
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''aposiopesis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| stopping a sentence in midcourse so that the statement is unfinished
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''occupatio'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"| The orator promises not to speak of a certain thing - and does it the more provocatively by doing so
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
 
+
===Repetions of words===
+
 
+
{|cellpadding="5"
+
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metaphor'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metonymy'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''synekdoche'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metalepsis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
 
+
===Figures of unusual word order===
+
 
+
{|cellpadding="5"
+
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metaphor'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metonymy'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''synekdoche'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metalepsis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
 
+
==Peculiar thoughts==
+
 
+
{|cellpadding="5"
+
!bgcolor=#F0F0FF align="left"|Name
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Explanation
+
!bgcolor=#D5D5FF align="left"| Example
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metaphor'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metonymy'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''synekdoche'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|-
+
|bgcolor=#D5D5FF valign="top" align="left"| '''metalepsis'''
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|bgcolor=#efefef valign="top" align="left"|
+
|}
+
anthimeria
+

Latest revision as of 11:56, 29 April 2008

Figures of Speech

  • Metaplastic figures: playing with spelling and sound
    • The addition of letters and sounds (prosthesis, epenthesis, paragoge)
    • The omission of letters and sounds (aphaersis, syncope, apocope)
    • The switching of letters and sounds (antisthecon, metathesis)
  • Playing with the structure of sentences
    • Words (seem to) get lost (ellipsis, zeugma...)
    • Repetions of words (epizeuxis, polyptoton, antanaclasis...)
  • Figures of an unusual arrangement of clauses and thoughts (auxesis, isocolon, chiasmus, antithesis, periphrasis...)
  • Peculiar thoughts (adynaton, aporia, correctio...)

Tropes: not to be taken literally: (metaphor, metonymy, synekdoche, metalepsis, irony...)

Figures of Speech

  • accumulation: Summarization of previous arguments in a forceful manner
  • adnominatio: Repetition of a word with a change in letter or sound
  • alliteration: A series of words that begin with the same letter or sound alike
  • anacoluthon: A change in the syntax within a sentence
  • anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another
  • anaphora: The repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
  • anastrophe: Inversion of the usual word order
  • anticlimax: the arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance
  • antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order
  • antistrophe: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses
  • antithesis: The juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas
  • aphorismus: statement that calls into question the definition of a word
  • aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect
  • apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience and to a personified abstraction
  • apposition: The placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first
  • assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
  • asteismus: Facetious or mocking answer that plays on a word
  • asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses
  • cacophony: The juxtaposition of words producing a harsh sound
  • classification (literature & grammar): linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article
  • chiasmus: Reversal of grammatical structures in successive clauses
  • climax: The arrangement of words in order of increasing importance
  • consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
  • Diorimazeau
  • dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis
  • ellipsis: Omission of words
  • enallage: The substitution of forms that are grammatically different, but have the same meaning
  • enthymeme: Informal method of presenting a syllogism
  • epanalepsis: Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence.
  • epistrophe: The counterpart of anaphora
  • euphony: This is the opposite of cacophony - i.e. pleasant sounding
  • hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when the normal structure would be a noun and a modifier
  • hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea
  • hypallage: Changing the order of words so that they are associated with words normally associated with others
  • hyperbaton: Schemes featuring unusual or inverted word order
  • isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses
  • internal rhyme : Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence
  • kenning: A metonymic compound where the terms together form a sort of synecdoche
  • non sequitur: a statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding
  • merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts
  • parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses
  • paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause
  • parenthesis: Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence
  • paroemion: A resolute alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter
  • parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, or apologizing for doing so (declaring to do so)
  • perissologia: The fault of wordiness
  • pleonasm: The use of superfluous or redundant words
  • polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root
  • polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions
  • pun: When a word or phrase is used in two different senses
  • sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration
  • synchysis: Interlocked word order
  • synesis: An agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form
  • synizesis: The pronunciation of two juxtaposed vowels or diphthongs as a single sound
  • synonymia: The use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence
  • tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice
  • tmesis: Division of the elements of a compound word


Tropes

  • allegory: An extended metaphor in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject
  • allusion: An indirect reference to another work of literature or art
  • anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker
  • antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses
  • anthimeria: The substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb
  • antiphrasis: A word or words used contradictory to their usual meaning, often with irony
  • antonomasia: The substitution of a phrase for a proper name or vice versa
  • aphorism: A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion, an adage
  • apophasis: Invoking an idea by denying its invocation
  • aporia: Deliberating with oneself, often with the use of rhetorical questions
  • apostrophe: Addressing a thing, an abstraction or a person not present
  • archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word(a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare's language)
  • auxesis: A form of hyperbole, in which a more important sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term
  • catachresis: A mixed metaphor (sometimes used by design and sometimes a rhetorical fault)
  • circumlocution: "Talking around" a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism or periphrasis
  • commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience.
  • correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is epanorthosis.
  • denominatio: Another word for metonymy
  • epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the tongue.
  • erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question
  • euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another
  • hermeneia: Repetition for the purpose of interpreting what has already been said
  • hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis
  • hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length
  • hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events
  • innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not
  • invocation: An apostrophe to a god or muse
  • irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning
  • litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite
  • malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar
  • meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something
  • metalepsis: Referring to something through reference to another thing to which it is remotely related
  • metaphor: An implied comparison of two unlike things
  • metonymy: Substitution of a word to suggest what is really meant
  • neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism.
  • onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning
  • oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other
  • parable: An extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson
  • paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth
  • paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over
  • paronomasia: A form of pun, in which words similar in sound but with different meanings are used
  • pathetic fallacy: Using a word that refers to a human action on something non-human
  • periphrasis: Substitution of a word or phrase for a proper name
  • personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena
  • praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis
  • procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument
  • prolepsis: Another word for procatalepsis
  • proslepsis: An extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic
  • rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as for in a poem for creating a poetic effect).
  • simile: An explicit comparison between two things
  • syllepsis: A form of pun, in which a single word is used to modify two other words, with which it normally would have differing meanings
  • synecdoche: A form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole
  • synesthesia: The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.
  • transferred epithet: The placing of an adjective with what appears to be the incorrect noun
  • truism: a self-evident statement
  • tricolon diminuens: A combination of three elements, each decreasing in size
  • tricolon crescens: A combination of three elements, each increasing in size
  • zeugma: a figure of speech related to syllepsis, but different in that the word used as a modifier is not compatible with one of the two words it modifies
  • zoomorphism: applying animal characteristics to humans or gods